AWARD

Avilex Pharma, a spin-out from University of Copenhagen, receives Wellcome Trust Translation Award to advance their ischemic stroke program and raises in total DKK 28 m (EUR 3.75 m.)

It is not often that Copenhagen University's research leads to establishment of a biotech company, but this happened back in 2012 when Professor Kristian Strømgaard and Assistant Professor Anders Bach from the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology established the Danish biotech company Avilex Pharma on the basis of a licensing agreement with the University of Copenhagen.

Based on research originating from the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Avilex Pharma has now received international acclaim by receiving the Translation Award from the UK based Wellcome Trust. The award of DKK 18 m (EUR 2.4 m ) will fund the development of a novel drug candidate for acute treatment of ischemic stroke, which is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

In addition to the award from the Wellcome Trust, Avilex Pharma has received additional funding of DKK 10 m (EUR 1.35 m) from Novo Seeds. Thus, together with the Translation Award from the Wellcome Trust, Avilex Pharma has raised new funding of DKK 28 m (EUR 3.75 m ).

The research topics of Avilex Pharma are related to activities at the Center for Biopharmaceuticals at Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology. The center opened in January 2014 and has received a supporting grant of DKK 35 m from the University of Copenhagen over the next five years for studies in protein medicinal chemistry.